Bollywood Forecast to Grow 11% Annually, Report

Bollywood, the Hindi-language part of the Indian film industry, is forecast to grow by 11% per year until the 2017 financial year.

The overall size of the Bollywood industry could swell to $2.89 billion (INR193 billion), up from its current $2.32 billion (INR155 billion), according to a new report, “Digitization & Mobility: Next Frontier of Growth for M&E,” from accountancy firm Deloitte and The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM.)

The researchers predict that theatrical revenue in India will swell from a current $1.78 billion (INR115 billion) to $2.13 billion (INR142 billion) by FY2017. That makes theatrical circuits account for some 74% of total income. TV and satellite revenues will grow at some 15% per year, said the forecasters, but predicted that home video will shrink at 10% per year.

The forecasters said that regional cinema in other Indian languages currently accounts for some 43% of national box office and was growing faster, but they did not predict a date when regional cinema might overtake Bollywood.

The report also urged Indian producers to produce movies which have more global appeal. “The Indian film industry has not yet been able to create universally appealing movies for a global audience, as such entertainment companies in the country need to develop content that would appeal to viewers (excluding Indian diaspora) abroad,” they said.

Calendar 2015 finished on a typical high. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s star-laden period piece “Bajirao Mastani” this week reported a worldwide gross of $45.1 million (INR3.01 billion) after three weeks on release. That was made up of $31.6 million (INR2.11 billion) of gross receipts within India (net receipts were $24.5 million [INR1.63 billion]) and some $13.5 million (INR900 million) in international markets.